human rights defender
Mourad Zghidi
Actions and Campaigns
Organization affiliation
- Syndicat national des journalistes tunisiens (SNJT)
HRD's year of birth
1972
HRD's Gender
Man
Type of HRD
- Journalist/Blogger
HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Civil and political rights
HRD's geographical origin
Urban
Current Status
In prison (sentenced)
HRD's bio and work
(AI translated) Mourad Zeghidi is a Tunisian sports journalist, born on 28 May 1972 in Tunis. He studied literature and law before taking up journalism in 1992.
In 1992, he began his career by taking part in a casting for Canal Horizon, which led him to present ‘Sport Horizon’.
In 2000, he became head of sport for the Canal+ group in Africa. In 2002, he joined Canal+'s sports department in Paris. At the same time, he hosted the programme ‘Stade7’ on Canal 7 in Tunisia.
Detained since
May 11, 2024
Charge(s)
- Financial crimes
- Spreading fake news
Sentence
(AI translated) 4 years in prison
Latitude: 36.745929383785665
Longitude: 9.97537136077881
Geolocation of detention
Country or area of detention
Region of detention
- Africa: Northern Africa
Location of detention - City/Town
Tunis
Location of detention - Facility
Prison Mornaguia
Recent case update / evolution
(AI translated) In May 2024, Mourad Zeghidi was arrested and sentenced to one year in prison for spreading ‘false news’ and ‘false statements with the aim of defaming others’.
In July 2024, his sentence was reduced to eight months by the Tunis Court of Appeal.
Although he had served his sentence, he remained in detention due to new charges of money laundering.
On 5 March 2025, his request for release was rejected by the investigating judge of the Tunis Court of First Instance.
On 22 January 2026, the criminal division of the Tunis Court of First Instance sentenced Mourad Zeghidi to three years in prison for money laundering and an additional six months for tax offences, in a case separate from the one that led to his initial imprisonment.
On 12 May 2026, the Criminal Division of the Tunis Court of Appeal upheld the sentence of three years and six months’ imprisonment imposed on Mourad Zeghidi for money laundering and tax offences.
On 4 June 2026, Mourad Zeghidi’s family announced that he had ‘decided to go on hunger strike to protest against the injustice he has suffered and the relentless legal persecution he has faced for over two years’. He went on hunger strike for eleven days.
Documented by
